


Until I Fade Away

by 1TheQuotableMissJane6



Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Gen, Multi, Next Generation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-13 12:23:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20582447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1TheQuotableMissJane6/pseuds/1TheQuotableMissJane6
Summary: Thirty years after the war, all is well in Erilea. In the North, Aelin and Rowan Ashryver Whitehorn-Galathynius rule from Terrasan surrounded by their children. But, when their youngest daughter Nema begins having nightmares, the heroes of the past must again come together to defeat an ancient evil that is asleep no longer. A task that is made even more difficult when Nema decides that she, and she alone must face the threat that is coming.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! 
> 
> I am gonna tell you this story hit me like a tone of bricks a couple of weeks ago and I have been structuring it and OH BOY! I've wanted to write a Next Gen fic for Throne of Glass for a while and I'm really excited about this. I have no idea how long it'll be and ratings and warnings may change as we get into the story. For now, I hope you enjoy this first chapter! 
> 
> Don't hesitate to leave kudos and comments! 
> 
> Sierra

Nema was on fire. Not her normal type of fire, not the kind that was easy to control, to maneuver. The fire that sang through her veins and moved only where she willed it. This fire was deadly and evil, it consumed her so fully that all she could do was burn and burn and lose more breath with every second. She screamed desperately for her parents, for her twin brother or one of her older brothers, for the family that surrounded her and loved her, but despite their close proximity to her, no one looked. Why the hell wouldn’t they look at her?! Then the voice, the same oily and blood-chilling voice she had been hearing for months, rang through her head. “They cannot help you little ember. They do not see you. Only I see you, and I want you to burn.” Nema screamed again, screamed for her Mama and Papa to notice her, to help her, for her twin brother to feel her pain like he always could but again they wouldn’t. She was utterly and completely alone.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nema shot out of bed, her mouth open to scream but no sound came out. Her skin still felt like it was on fire and she allowed her own flame to come to the surface, hoping it would quiet her pain. The door flew open just as her skin began to cool to reveal her twin brother, Gavin, panting in the entryway. He looked her up and down, noticing the flame dancing up and down her arms and around her shoulders, and then met her eyes. They were matching pairs of turquoise and gold, Ashryver eyes, the same shade as their mother and uncle. Gavin came forward and sat next to her on the bed, finally asking, “Was it the same dream as a few nights ago?”  


She looked down at her hands, willing the flames to leave and feeling a surge of relief when they obeyed. Then looked back at him and answered, “Yes. But…it was worse this time. I wasn’t alone this time. I was in the throne room, with all of you around talking and laughing. None of you could see me, no matter how loudly I screamed, none of you helped me.”  


Gavin frowned. “And the voice?’  


“Same as before, every word. But this time…” She shuddered and looked down at her hands, “I could feel him this time Gav. He was standing right behind me, he spoke right into my ear.”  


“Did you see him?”  


She shook her head and felt a couple of tears begin to fall. “This has been happening for months! I don’t know what to do anymore.” Her whole body shuddered as a sob escaped and Gavin wrapped her in his arms. She and Gavin were as identical as it was possible to be. Matching eyes and golden blond hair, though Gavin had more of a warriors build; broad-chested and heavily muscled. Nema was slighter, she had always preferred to fight primarily with her magic and resorted to daggers or a bow when necessary. Gavin had very little magical ability, and while Nema’s magic was all fire and chaos Gavin took after their father in his ability to move the winds. In fact, Nema was the only one of the four royal children of Terrasan to possess both her mother’s fire-wielding gift and her father’s wind magic. A gift that she had wished away since the moment it had manifested. Her older brothers, Rhoe and Coran, also took after their father’s magical ability, Rhoe with wind, Coran’s affinity being ice. However, none of her brothers seemed to struggle to control their powers as much as she always had.  


Gavin shifted her in his arms so they could face each other and said, “I think it’s time we tell Mama and Papa.” He immediately read the refusal in her face, in her mind, and said into her mind, _“You haven’t been sleeping Nem. You’re fading away, everyone can see it, and they’re all worried. But the last time we tried to ask questions you nearly blasted Uncle Aedion out of a window and Rhoe still hasn’t replaced the jacket you incinerated. You know it’s time to tell them. Before it gets worse.”___  


Nema snapped and shot out of her brother's arms. She began pacing the length of her bedroom and yelled both through their mental bond and out-loud, _“WORSE?! _How could it possibly get worse?” The flame was building to the surface again and she open and closed her hands, repeating her mother’s words to herself. _“Breathe and relax, little flame. In and out and then repeat. Remember that you are in control of it.”_ Remembering their early days of training when her mother would sit with her while her fire raged always calmed her. Her mother was the only one that she was sure had never been afraid of her because she knew what it was like to have this power and have it consume her. Nema stopped pacing as she remembered and realized that her brother was right. Her family had been through hell and back in the war, and if anyone would be able to help her it would be them. She could hear her parents calmly discussing the best course of action, which one of her menagerie of aunts and uncles would be the most helpful to her. The thing that frightened her most though was…____  


“It’s that voice.” Her twin said, reading it in her mind before she could think it. “You’re afraid to tell them because of whoever has been causing these nightmares.”  


She met his eyes and nodded. “What if telling our family is what it wants. What if I tell them and everything goes to shit. Whatever it is Gavin, it’s powerful. I can feel that so completely it scares the shit out of me.”  


“But it wants you to be alone! It tells you so every time. So maybe we fight it by making sure you aren’t alone. Dammit Nema, we don’t know who or what it is or even if it’s actually…”  


“Real? Is that what you were going to say Gavin? That maybe I’m just making everything up in my head. That I’m losing my mind.”  


Gavin gaped at her, “That’s not what I…” He pinched his nose and sighed, “Listen, there’s a Small Council meeting tomorrow. Uncle Aedion and Aunt Lysandra are coming in for it. Tell them then. Let them try, Nema. We clearly can’t do it alone. Or, if you aren’t ready to tell them, we should at least tell Rhoe and Coran!”  


“Rhoe is still on the Southern Continent training, and I’m not sure Coran is even reachable or where the Bane is settled right now. They’re busy, our whole family is busy.”  


Gavin rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Always the first sign that he was gearing up for an argument. “That’s an awful excuse and you know it. They run kingdoms, Nema, they’re always busy. But they would never refuse to help because we are family first. You know that, and you would do well to remember it.” He stood and stared her down, “Tell them tomorrow, start with the council. This could be the first sign that something evil is stirring and if it is then it won’t matter who we tell and when. They’ll all know when it finally rises and by then it may be too late.  


Nema held his gaze and weighed his words. She knew he was right, Gavin had always been the wisest of them, but his words of something rising were what stirred within her. Something rising, and her family would rise to meet it as they had done before. But after thirty years of peace, Nema prayed that her family would still be enough to stop what was coming. Finally, she nodded, “Alright. I’ll tell them tomorrow. Just the Small Council though, Gavin. We’ll let Mama and Papa decide what to do from there.”  


Gavin’s shoulders loosened and he walked forward so he was right in front of her now. Nema wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him close. 

She didn’t tell him that in that moment she again heard that awful voice. Heard the low chuckle, and then the words, _“It will not be enough. I will still rise.”___


	2. Chapter 2

Nema had, thankfully, been able to sleep the rest of the night with no dreams. This was most likely because her brother had curled up on the other side of her bed and refused to go back to his own room. She had tried to argue that it wasn’t necessary, but he had merely told her that he wasn’t leaving and that had been that. She got into bed next to him and reached across the bed to take his hand before falling asleep, she felt slightly foolish reverting to how they had slept when they were children, but after the way the first half of her evening had gone, she didn’t dwell on it for long. They were still in that position the next morning when the door was thrown open by their mother. Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn-Galthynius had grown even lovelier over the years, her golden hair was cut to elbow length and was tied in a braid down her back. She was dressed this morning more like a normal woman who had just rolled out of bed than a queen. In a large green tunic and black pants, her feet still in the soft slippers her eldest son had gifted her several years ago. A bright grin spread over her face as she took in her youngest children and it matched her voice as she cried, “You two lazy asses are still in bed? You nearly missed breakfast!” 

Nema sat up slightly with an annoyed groan and glared as her mother came and sat cross-legged at the end of her bed. Her brother mumbled into the pillow, “Did you at least have the decency to bring breakfast with you?” 

Their mother chuckled, “Now, if I did that you would start to expect it. You can’t have breakfast in bed all the time, my darling.” Gavin grumbled into the pillow before opening his eyes, sitting up, and glaring at her. Aelin smirked at him, “That’s the same glare your father gets when I annoy him. It’s amazing that you can look so much like me and yet still mimic him so closely.” She hopped off the bed lightly, came around to his side of the bed, and planted a kiss atop his sleep tousled hair. 

In these moments, Nema found it hard to imagine her mother as the cunning and deadly warrior she had been during the war. She had always been such a gentle mother, which had come as a shock to many of her friends. It had also been a shock to many of them when she had begun having children. Nema had asked her Uncle Dorian about it once and he had just smiled and said, “I think it surprises us because we knew your mother in a time when she was willing to give her own life to make sure we could live ours. She didn’t think she would live long enough to have children so you can imagine what a shock it’s been watching her with four.” From the stories she had heard, her mother had not been a natural from the start. When Rhoe had been born, her father said that she had done wonderfully but her mother had just laughed and responded that this wasn’t at all true and that it was a miracle that Rhoe was still alive. Her parents must have figured out some secret to parenting by the time she and Gavin had come along though because in seventeen years of life she had never seen either of them be anything short of the best parents in existence. 

Gavin had tried to continue scowling at his mother, but it now held too much affection to be imposing so he instead asked, “Was there a reason that you woke us up with such…enthusiasm?” 

Aelin grinned at him as she walked to the other side of the bed to place a kiss on Nema’s head. “Well, I just thought you’d want to know that your aunt and uncle have arrived safely and…” 

Nema let out an excited cry and shot out of her bed. She threw on a robe over her sleep dress and bounded out of the room to find her family. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Nema didn’t have favorites when it came to her aunts and uncles, not that she would admit anyway. But her Uncle Aedion had always been one of her favorite people in the world, which she would swear was different than saying he was her favorite uncle. When she and Gavin were six, their parents had left them with Aedion and Lysandra for four months to see to a conflict that had arisen in Wendlyn, and those months had been some of the happiest of her life. They had played for hours, chased Lysandra around in various forms, and at night Aedion had told them stories. Some that sent them right to sleep, some had riled them up to the point that Lysandra had kicked him out of the room and had instead sung to them until they slept. Though they had tried over the years, they had never been able to have children of their own. Aunt Yrene had done all she could to help, but nothing had been successful and after years with no success and several miscarriages, Lysandra had said enough. They had always insisted that this wasn’t a problem because of how many nieces and nephews they had to love, but Nema had sometimes noticed the sad way Lysandra would watch the children in the family play and laugh. When Nema was eight she had told Aedion that she could come live with them so that they had a little girl to raise. The sadness she had seen in her uncle’s eyes was still enough to make her heart sink. He had insisted that she couldn’t live with him permanently, but of course, she was always welcome to visit. 

Nema shoved down those sad memories now as she round the corner into the main dining hall and found her father, uncle, and aunt standing and discussing something. Her father smiled at her when she entered the room and when her uncle turned to face her she smiled and launched herself into his arms. He lifted her off the ground with a joyful shout and spun her around before planting her back on the ground. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close. So close that she could feel the laughter in his voice when he said, “Were you surprised?” 

Nema pulled away slightly and met eyes that were nearly identical to her own. “Surprised? Was this supposed to be a surprise? If so, no one told Gavin. He told me last night that you were coming for a Small Council meeting.” As she spoke her eyes drifted around him and she let out another squeal and moved around him to hug her aunt. While Lysandra was not immortal as many of the others in her family, she did not seem to age as quickly as others. This wasn’t just due to her shapeshifting ability, but they thought it must be because of the magic in her veins from her father’s side of the family. 

It was her father who said, “It wasn’t necessarily a surprise. Mostly because there’s no way to keep something from you once Gavin knows about it. Though I’m impressed he only told you last night since he’s known for a few days.” 

Nema shot a glance at the ceiling along with an annoyed tug on her bond with her brother. This wasn’t necessary though because Gavin drawled from the open doorway, “I actually tried to let it be a surprise. Guess I should know better though.” He and their mother stepped into the room exchanging hugs and words of greeting, and then her brother asked, “Is anyone else in this council meeting who’s not here?” 

Their parents exchanged a look. The same look that their children had come to realize meant that they too were silently communicating. No one had ever been able to explain why Nema and Gavin could speak mind to mind with each other when that ability was not something that ran in their family. It had been especially difficult to explain it when they had realized that neither child could communicate with anyone else mind to mind, only the other twin. Rhoe had once asked them what it was like to have that connection and both Gavin and Nema had tried and failed to describe it. Their mother had finally just declared that it was just another ability that made her children extraordinary and they had moved on. Aelin finally looked away from her mate and smiled, “There are people who probably should be here, but they are busy so it’ll just be us.” 

Gavin said to her, _“See, it’ll be perfect. Just the four of them!” _

Nema shot back, _“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one that has to tell them you’ve been having nightmares and that some evil and ancient thing is rising that is going to bring an end to thirty years of peace.” _

_“So dramatic this morning, sister. Let’s at least save the impending doom talk for after tea and breakfast shall we.”_

_“Asshole.”_

_“Well if I’m one then I guess you are too.”_

_“Oh really? How do you figure?”_

An amused chuckle and then he simply said, _“Because we’re identical.”_

Aedion drawled, “Gavin, Nema, anything you two want to share with the rest of the room?” 

Nema shot her family a small grin. “Sorry.” She went to take a seat at the table and the rest of them followed suit. No one spoke much as the food was passed around, tea poured, and food eaten. 

_ __ _

_ _ _ Her mother was the first one to break the silence. “I received a letter from Coran this morning.” _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ Her father frowned and took the letter from her. His frown changed to an amused grin as he read and then he said, “Apparently Coran has fallen in love…again.” _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ Everyone at the table groaned and a couple rolled their eyes. Coran had a new love almost every month it seemed. An impressive feat considering that he was in the Staghorns training with the Bane. Aedion took the letter from Rowan and looked it over. “No name. I may recognize the poor man if he gave one. I don’t think the last poor soul has gotten over him yet.” _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ Aelin huffed a laugh. “Can you blame him? It’s only been a month.” She reached across the table and took the letter from her cousin’s hand. “Maybe this time he’ll have found the right one and he’ll settle down.” _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ Rowan chuckled and rested a hand on his mate’s. “I wouldn’t get your hopes up, fireheart. Not so soon at least.” _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ Aedion jumped in and said with a smirk, “At least you don’t have to worry about him getting someone pregnant.” _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ Aelin met her cousin’s eyes and Nema almost let out a laugh at the exasperation she saw there. “Thank you Aedion, that is incredibly helpful.” _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ Lysandra asked, with some amusement laced in her voice, “Is this why you called a Small Council meeting?” _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ In the years since the war, small council meetings had been an easy name they had given to the meetings that not all of their vast family could be a part of. Nema had found the term annoying when she was younger because the name never gave any indication as to who would be there, as the name was used even if only one person from their circle was missing. In the time she had been alive, there had only been one Grand Council, and it had been called five years ago when Prince Ilian had been kidnapped. Nema had always been just a tiny bit afraid of her Aunt Mannon, but sitting in that council meeting there had been nothing tiny about her fear. It had not helped matters that Mannon had been pregnant at the time and could do very little to help find her oldest son. Thinking about that meeting made Nema shiver because she realized that what she was going to tell her parents could very well be the news that triggered the next Grand Council to be called. _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ It was her father was answered her aunt’s question. “No. Coran’s…that letter isn’t why we wanted to meet with you two.” Rowan looked to Aelin and smiled before continuing, “We wanted you to be the first to know that Aelin is pregnant.” _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ The room was silent for a moment before Lysandra let out an excited yell and went around the table to pull her friend into a tight hug. Aedion smiled and clapped Rowan on the shoulder. Gavin had yelled ‘What!’ but was now joining his aunt and mother in their hug. Nema however, felt like she had just had a bucket of ice dumped on her. Pregnant, her mother was pregnant. Nema studied her and deduced that she must not be very far along because there were no physical hints but…Nema stood from the table and backed away slightly. Her family all looked at her in alarm but she was trapped in her own mind. Her mother was pregnant, and some ancient evil was stirring, was waking up. They were in danger, she could feel that in her bones, in her soul, and now her mother was in even more danger. Worse, her mother would risk losing the baby because there was no way that Queen Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn-Galathynius, fireheart and Queen of Terrasen, would not rise to meet whatever was stirring. Nema looked between her parents and felt her hands start to shake. They had gone through so much during the war, had fought and suffered but had endured it all. It wasn’t just her parents either, her whole family would rise to fight this and they would all be in danger yet again. This time though, it would not be heroes in the early years of their life fighting. There were members of her family who were not immortal, lives that now seem so fragile to her as she thought about the people she loved so fiercely and how easy it would be for them to be broken. Her mind kept going back to that one word though, the word that her father had spoken with so much joy in his eyes. A word that would not hold so much joy when he had to fight in a war knowing his mate was pregnant and in danger. _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ Her mother stood slowly from her chair, arms raised in a gesture of surrender. Why was she surrendering? Her mother locked eyes with her and said quietly, “Nema, sweetheart, control the fire. Breathe and relax your body.” _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ Nema could not relax though, and her breathing was so erratic that she didn’t think she’d ever get it to quiet. Her mother was walking towards her on one side, and on the other, her father was also moving. When she looked from her mother to her father he smiled encouragingly at her. “Calm down, little flame. Tell us what’s wrong.” _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ She couldn’t tell them though. Not now, not knowing that telling them would put all of them in danger. She couldn’t…couldn’t…wouldn’t. The flames that had been starting to curl around her arms rose even higher as her parents continued to speak soothingly. No matter what they said though nothing worked, and with a pained cry she released the small hold she had on her power. _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ The room around her burst into flame. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ Miles and miles away, in a council room in Adarlan, Prince Ilian nearly collapsed. His father looked up in alarm and stood to his feet. “Ilian! Are you alright?” _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ Ilian put a hand to his chest and frowned. “Fine. I’m…I’m fine. I just…felt something.” _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ The king frowned at him, his eyes still studying his son with concern. “Felt what?” _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ “Panic. Not my own though. Someone else’s.” _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ “Has this happened before?” _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ Ilian hesitated. He hadn’t told his parents about the strange echoes he sometimes felt. They had started nearly four months ago without warning and there wasn’t anything he could identify as an obvious trigger. They often happened at night and pulled him out of sleep, so he wondered to himself why this one had happened in the early afternoon. He was saved from answering when a knock sounded and his uncle pushed open the door. Chaol Westfall, though now in his early fifties, did not look his age. Ilian wondered if it was because of the magic that bound his life to his wife or if it was simply because he still served as his Hand of the King and head of his personal guard. A role that was less well known but one his uncle had refused to let anyone else take. Chaol smiled at him but said to Dorian, “Are you ready to go?” _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ The two of them were leaving for a meeting in Belhaven to talk through some dispute that a landowner had about a group of magic users he claimed were from Rithfold. After nearly a month of correspondence back and forth, King Dorian had finally decided that he would go himself to try to settle the dispute. When his wife and his closest friend had argued with him he had merely smiled and said, ‘It’s not like I have anything better to do!’ And that had been the end of the argument. _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ The door opened again, this time his mother swept into the room. While Ilian had often found it hard to picture the other members of his family as the fierce warriors they had been during the war, he had never had a hard time picturing his mother as such. The Crochan and Adarlanian queen was such a striking figure that Ilian was surprised anyone in their court was able to speak with her without quivering in their boots. However, when it came to himself and his younger sister, Manon Havilliard had always been warm and loving. Though, anyone who knew them well enough was fully aware that she was the stricter of his parents and Dorian the more indulgent. This was especially true when it came to his four-year-old sister, Astra. His mother walked forward and gave Ilian a swift kiss to the top of the head before turning to her husband with her arms crossed. “I still don’t think you should be going.” _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ Dorian rolled his eyes. “We’ve already discussed this and I’m going. Besides, Chaol will be with me! Which means I’m basically invincible.” When Manon just continued to glare at him Dorian reached out and took her hand. “We’ll only be gone a couple of days. If anything happens, you’ll be the first to know. You and Abraxos can come to rescue us and you can say I told you so.” _ _ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ Ilian looked back and forth between the two of them. Wondering if this offer would be enough to satisfy his mother. He started to offer his own words when suddenly all the breath went out of him. One second he had been breathing normally, and the next it was like the air was sucked from his lungs. He gasped and put a hand to his chest, desperately trying to draw in air. His parents and uncle were around him in seconds, which was fortunate because he gasped twice more before his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed._ _ _

_ __ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry it took me so long to post this! I will warn you that because of how much I work I won't have a regular posting schedule but I will try to be as regular as possible! Let me know what you think of the chapter!


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